San Antonio Spurs forward Kawhi Leonard, center, waiting to return from injury, wears street cloths as he watches from the bench during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the New Orleans Pelicans, Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2018, in San Antonio. New Orleans won 121-116. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)(Eric Gay)

The Boston Celtics reportedly made an offer before the trade deadline for San Antonio Spurs star Kawhi Leonard, who sat out the season with a somewhat mysterious leg injury, but the Spurs never made a counter offer, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.

Per Wojnarowski, the Spurs have been resistant to trade talks for Leonard all spring and remain hopeful they can reconcile their differences. The Celtics, meanwhile, might still be willing to trade for Leonard on a "a distressed, discounted deal" (which Wojnarowski compares to the Irving deal last summer), but the chances of that are "far less likely."

This is interesting on several levels. First, we don't know what package Boston offered -- it's possible Danny Ainge tossed a low-ball offer out onto the field to see if a frustrated Spurs front office would bite. Second, the Celtics may have looked around in February and seen a golden opportunity to make the Finals and challenge for a title.

Perhaps most importantly: Danny Ainge probably offered real value. The Celtics were capped out and thus would have had to match salaries in any deal, and Leonard made $18.8 million last year. Greg Monroe was signed at the trade deadline and was ineligible to be dealt for three months, which means if the Celtics were hoping to maintain their core five (Gordon Hayward, Kyrie Irving, Al Horford, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown), they would have had to deal something like Marcus Smart, Marcus Morris, Aron Baynes and Terry Rozier plus picks. That's a lot of bodies, and it still isn't a particularly reasonable deal for San Antonio.

As Wojnarowski pointed out, any deal involving one of those core five is likely now off the table for Boston (barring an Anthony Davis-type suddenly coming available) thanks to the Celtics' deep playoff run and the promise of its returning players next year. If the Spurs can't reconcile with Leonard, one has to wonder how deeply they would regret not acquiring one of those players when they had the chance.

The Celtics look like contenders with or without Leonard. Leonard is a perfect fit for Brad Stevens' system -- long, athletic and skilled, with the ability to lock down multiple positions at a level perhaps no other player in the NBA can match, and the Celtics would be a terror in the Eastern Conference if they acquired him.

But shortening their window -- even for a player of his caliber -- would be a risk. Adding a potential top-five player would help, obviously, but the Celtics can maintain their future flexibility and still be well-positioned for a run deep into June if they stay put and have a relatively quiet summer.